Appeals court rules Delafield gun club can reopen shooting ranges

Future of the club uncertain

An aerial view of the Hartland Sportsmen's Club. The Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled Aug. 30 that the club could resume operations if it secures another conditional-use permit. The city of Delafield is asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to consider the case(Photo: Submitted)

CITY OF DELAFIELD - The Wisconsin Court of Appeals on Wednesday, Aug. 30, ruled the Hartland Sportsmen's Club could reopen if it secures another conditional use permit following the revocation of one seven years ago by Delafield officials after a stray bullet from the gun range grazed a pregnant woman eating at a nearby restaurant.

The ruling could mark the end of a years-long struggle between the city and HSC over whether the club, on 35 acres near Maple Avenue and Interstate 94, should be allowed to operate.

But whether, or how soon, it will resume firing on its five ranges is unclear.

The ruling did not specify when, or under what conditions, the gun club could reopen. A lawyer representing HSC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the decision.

When asked about how the city might respond, Delafield Mayor Michele DeYoe said, "We just found out about this yesterday morning. I have not had time to confer with our attorneys, staff or the common council."

The court of appeals ruling partially affirmed a 2016 decision from Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Maria S. Lazar. She determined that the city violated the state Range Protection Act when it revoked the gun club's permit in 2010 and acted arbitrarily and without good cause when the city refused to issue another permit in 2013.

The appellate court determined the initial revocation was valid because the gun club did not file a timely challenge to it, but ruled that the city's subsequent denial of an application for another permit was invalid.

Raluca Buznea shows off a wound from a stray bullet that grazed her while she was eating out at a restaurant near the Hartland Sportsmen's Club. The incident sparked questions about the safety of the gun club and ultimately led to the city of Delafield revoking the club's conditional use permit.(Photo: Submitted)

Long legal battle

In 2010, the city revoked HSC's permit after residential and commercial property owners near the club presented evidence during public hearings that the club was violating safety standards included in a conditional-use permit the city issued in 1997.

The day after one of those hearings in April 2010, Waukesha resident Raluca Buznea — who was 17 weeks pregnant — was grazed by a .45-caliber bullet that escaped from one of the club's firing ranges while she was dining about a quarter-mile north of the club on an outdoor patio at the Delafield Brewhaus.

HSC voluntarily shut down after the incident, which left Buznea with a scratch and a bruise on her left side, above her hip. Her unborn child was unharmed, and the gun club's insurance company later agreed to pay her an undisclosed five-figure cash settlement.

In June 2010, the city revoked the club's permit, igniting several years of litigation over the club's future. The city later denied the club's 2013 application for a new conditional-use permit, and the club sued in 2014.